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ICSM
2005
IEEE

A Category-theoretic Approach to Syntactic Software Merging

13 years 9 months ago
A Category-theoretic Approach to Syntactic Software Merging
Software merging is a common and essential activity during the lifespan of large-scale software systems. Traditional textual merge techniques are inadequate for detecting syntactic merge conflicts. In this paper, we propose a domain-independent approach for syntactic software merging that exploits the graph-based structure(s) of programs. We use morphisms between fuzzy graphs to capture the relationships between the structural elements of the programs to be merged, and apply a truth ordering lattice to express inconsistencies and evolutionary properties as we compute the merge. We demonstrate the approach with a three-way consolidation merge in a commercial software system; in particular, we show how analyzing merged call structures can help developers gain a better understanding and control of software evolution.
Nan Niu, Steve M. Easterbrook, Mehrdad Sabetzadeh
Added 25 Jun 2010
Updated 25 Jun 2010
Type Conference
Year 2005
Where ICSM
Authors Nan Niu, Steve M. Easterbrook, Mehrdad Sabetzadeh
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